1.
Portugal
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Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north

2.
12th century
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As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Common Era. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and is called the Age of the Cistercians. In Song dynasty China an invasion by Jurchens caused a schism of north and south. The Khmer Empire of Cambodia flourished during this century, while the Fatimids of Egypt were overtaken by the Ayyubid dynasty, China is under the Northern Song dynasty. Early in the century, Zhang Zeduan paints Along the River During the Qingming Festival and it will later end up in the Palace Museum, Beijing. In southeast Asia, there is conflict between the Khmer Empire and the Champa, Angkor Wat is built under the Hindu king Suryavarman II. By the end of the century the Buddhist Jayavarman VII becomes the ruler, Japan is in its Heian period. The Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga is made and attributed to Toba Sōjō and it ends up at the Kōzan-ji, Kyoto. In Oceania, the Tuʻi Tonga Empire expands to a greater area. Europe undergoes the Renaissance of the 12th century, the blast furnace for the smelting of cast iron is imported from China, appearing around Lapphyttan, Sweden, as early as 1150. Alexander Neckam is the first European to document the mariners compass, Christian humanism becomes a self-conscious philosophical tendency in Europe. Christianity is also introduced to Estonia, Finland, and Karelia, the first medieval universities are founded. Middle English begins to develop, and literacy begins to spread outside the Church throughout Europe, in addition, churchmen are increasingly willing to take on secular roles. By the end of the century, at least a third of Englands bishops also act as judges in secular matters. The Ars antiqua period in the history of the music of Western Europe begins. The earliest recorded miracle play is performed in Dunstable, England Gothic architecture and trouvère music begin in France, during the middle of the century, the Cappella Palatina is built in Palermo, Sicily, and the Madrid Skylitzes manuscript illustrates the Synopsis of Histories by John Skylitzes. Fire and plague insurance first become available in Iceland, and the first documented outbreaks of influenza there happens, the medieval state of Serbia state is formed by Stefan Nemanja and then continued by the Nemanjić dynasty. By the end of the century, both the Capetian Dynasty and the House of Anjou are relying primarily on mercenaries in their militaries, paid soldiers are available year-round, unlike knights who expected certain periods off to maintain their manor lifestyles

3.
Kingdom of the Algarve
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The Kingdom of the Algarve, later the Kingdom of the Algarves, was a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal. It was the dominion of the Portuguese Crown and supposedly a kingdom apart from Portugal, though in fact the Algarvian kingdom had no institutions, special privileges. In actuality, it was just a title for the Algarve based on its history and was very similar to the rest of the Portuguese provinces. The title King of Silves was first used by Sancho I of Portugal after the first conquest of Silves in 1189, during the Reconquista, Portuguese and Castilian conquests went south, to take lands from the Muslims that they claimed as theirs. Portugal conquered and secured much of its borders during the reigns of King Sancho II of Portugal. In 1189, King Sancho I of Portugal conquered Silves, one of the most prosperous cities in Al-Andalus, aligned at the time with the Almohad Caliphate. Portuguese control over Silves would be short, with the Almohads conquering the city again in 1191 in a massive counter-attack led by Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur the Almohad Caliph in person. Aben Mafom, King of Niebla and Emir of Algarve, trying to counter the achievements made by the Portuguese in their territories, through his vassals, Alfonso X hoped to claim dominion over the Algarve not yet conquered by the Portuguese. In March 1249, King Afonso III of Portugal captured Faro, the kings of Castile, and then Spain, would add the title to their repertoire of titles until the ascent of Queen Isabel II of Spain to the throne. During the Age of Discoveries, the Algarve served as the location for the embarkment for many voyages, prince Henry also set up his famous school of navigation at Sagres Point, though the idea of a real school building and campus is highly disputed. Most of the voyages set sail from Lagos, the name of the Algarvian Kingdom suffered some minor changes due to the Portuguese North African conquests, which were considered an extension of the kingdom of Algarve. The Portuguese monarchs therefore adopted the title that they would use until the fall of the monarchy in 1910, Kings of Portugal, the title would continue to be used even after the abandonment of the last North African holding in Mazagan. During the 19th century, a clash between liberals and Miguelites, caused an exodus of people from the Algarvian inlands to the coastal cities. José Joaquim Sousa Reis, the Remexido, fought in the inlands and attacked the coastal cities, the turmoil of the Algarve intensified in the years between 1834 and 1838, when the Algarve saw battles on a level it had never seen before. Remexido, however, was shot in Faro on August 2,1838, Kingdom of Portugal United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves Algarve

4.
Tomar
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Tomar, also known in English as Thomar, is a city and a municipality in Santarém District in Portugal. The town proper has a population of about 20,000, the municipality population in 2011 was 40,677, in an area of 351.20 km². The town of Tomar was born inside the walls of the Convento de Cristo, constructed under the orders of Gualdim de Pais, Tomar is one of Portugals historical jewels and more significantly was the last Templar town to be commissioned for construction. Tomar lies in the most fertile region of Portugal, and one of the most fertile in the whole of the Iberian Peninsula and it is located in the district of Santarém. The predominant treescape is agricultural, consisting of olive, pine, the seat of the municipality is the city of Tomar, which comprises the parishes of Santa Maria dos Olivais and São João Batista. Tomar is also the capital of the Médio Tejo region, the Nabão River cuts across what was the ancient city of Nabantia, its inhabitants are called Nabantinos. Administratively, the municipality is divided into 11 civil parishes, Under the modern city lies the Roman city of Sellium. After the conquest of the region from the Moors in the Portuguese Reconquista and its Grand Master in Portugal, and Tomars somewhat mythical founder, Gualdim Pais, laid in 1160 the first stone of the Castle and Monastery that would become the headquarters of the Order in Portugal. The foral or feudal contract was granted in 1162 by the Grand Master to the people, the Templars ruled from Tomar a vast region of central Portugal which they pledged to defend from Moorish attacks and raids. Those inhabitants who could sustain a horse were obliged to pay military service in return for privileges and they were not allowed the title of Knight which was reserved to the monks. Women were also admitted to the Order, although they didnt fight, in 1190 Abu Yusuf al-Mansur, a Moroccan caliph, and his army attacked Tomar. However the crusader Knights and their 72-year-old leader kept them at bay, a plaque commemorates this bloody battle at the Porta do Sangue at the Castelo Templário. This Order in 1319 moved south to Castro Marim, but in 1356 it returned to Tomar. In the 15th century the position of Grand Master of the Order was henceforth nominated by the Pope, and the Master or Governor by the King, instead of being elected by the monks. Henry the Navigator was made the Governor of the Order, and it is believed that he used the resources and knowledge of the Order to succeed in his enterprises in Africa and in the Atlantic. Henry, enriched by his overseas enterprises, was the first ruler to ameliorate the buildings of the Convento de Cristo since its construction by Gualdim Pais and he also ordered dams to be built to control the river Nabão and swamps to be drained. This allowed the town to attract more settlers. Henry ordered the new streets to be designed in a rational, geometrical fashion, in 1438, King Duarte, away from Lisbon because of the Black Death, died there instead

5.
Order of Aviz
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It gave its name and coat of arms to the Aviz Dynasty that ruled Portugal between 1385 and 1580. A native order of this kind sprang up in Portugal about 1146, afonso, the first King gave to it the town of Évora, captured from the Moors in 1166, and the Knights were first called Friars of Santa Maria of Évora. Pedro Henriques, an son of the Kings father, was the first grand master. Like the Knights of Calatrava in Castile, the Knights of Portugal were indebted to the Cistercians for their rule and their habit—a white mantle with a green fleur-de-lysed cross. The Knights of Calatrava also surrendered some of their places in Portugal to them on condition that the Knights of Aviz should be subject to the visitation of their grand master, at the death of King Ferdinand war broke out between Castile and Portugal. Guzman protested, and the point remained a subject of contention until the Council of Basle, but the right of the Calatravans was never exercised, and the next grand master of the Knights of Aviz, Fernando Rodrigues de Sequeira, continued to assert supreme authority over them. The mission of the orders in Portugal seemed to end after the overthrow of Muslim domination. Fernando displayed a no less heroic forbearance during his six years of captivity among the Muslims and this enthusiasm did not last, and the Crusade in Africa degenerated into mere mercantile enterprise. After the grand mastership of the order had been vested in the King in perpetuity, if the wealth of the Knights of Aviz was not as great as that of the Knights of Christ, it was still quite large, drawn as it was from some forty-three commanderies. The religious spirit of the vanished, and they withdrew from their clerical brothers who continued alone the conventual life. They were dispensed from their vow of celibacy by Alexander VI, nobility of birth remained the chief requirement of aspirants to the mantle, a requirement confirmed by a decree of 1604. Pope Pius VI and Queen Mary I reformed the order into a secular institution, in 1834, when the civil government of Portugal became anti-Catholic, after the defeat of King Miguel in the Civil War, under the constitutional monarchy the order lost its properties. The ancient military orders were transformed by the constitution and subsequent legislation into mere orders of merit. The privileges which once had been a part of the membership of the old military orders also ceased. In 1910, when the Portuguese monarchy ended, the Republic of Portugal abolished all the orders except the Order of the Tower and Sword. The Military Order of Aviz, together with the other Portuguese Orders of Merit, had its statutes revised on several occasions, during the First Republic, then in 1962, the Military Order of Aviz, together with the Military Orders of Christ and of St. The order can only be conferred on military personnel, both Portuguese and foreign, for outstanding service, for Portuguese nationals, a minimum of seven years of service in the armed forces is required as well as an outstanding and exemplary service record. However, a number of provisions in the regulations of the order allow for exceptions to this general rule

6.
Military Order of Saint James of the Sword
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This article deals with the Portuguese Order of knighthood. For the Spanish branch, see Order of Santiago, the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword is a Portuguese order of chivalry. The Order of Saint James was founded in León-Castile circa 1170 and it was probably founded as an order of Augustinian canons regular to escort pilgrims to the shrine of St. James the Greater in Santiago of Compostella in Galicia. But King Ferdinand II of León soon set it to garrison the southern frontiers of León against the Almohads of al-Andalus. In 1170, Ferdinand II granted the new order the castles of Cáceres and Monfragüe, which had confiscated from Gerald the Fearless in 1169. The new Leonese order was soon operating in neighboring kingdoms, a Portuguese branch emerged when King Afonso I of Portugal donated Arruda dos Vinhos to the Order of Santiago. This was followed up by donations of the castle of Monsanto, given the poor relations between Afonso and Ferdinand II, the arrival of the Leonese order in Portugal is a little surprising. Nonetheless, the donation documents explicitly name Rodrigo Álvarez as the administrator of all three Portuguese donations, although a founding knight of Santiago, Rodrigo Álvarez was known to be dissatisfied with its rules. So it is possible Afonso may have been trying to encourage a switch or schism in the Order already at this stage, the foundation of the Order of Évora in 1175/76 reveal Afonsos keen interest in a Portugal-based order. Whatever the intentions of the invitation, the Santiago knights evidently did not meet Afonsos expectations. The Order of Santiago would only return to Portugal in 1186, the establishment of the Order of Santiago in León, Castile and Portugal was endorsed by papal legate Cardinal Hyacinthus of Acardo on a visit to Iberia in 1172-73. The approval of the Order was confirmed three years later by Pope Alexander III in a bull issued July 1175, in 1186, King Sancho I of Portugal donated to the returning Order of Santiago the Portuguese dominions of Palmela, Almada and Alcácer do Sal. But in 1190–91, all three citadels were conquered in an offensive led by the Almohad caliph Yaqub al-Mansur and they were recovered sometime between 1194 and 1204. The Order of Santiago established its Portuguese headquarters at Palmela shortly before 1210, one of the more notable of Portuguese Santiago knights was Paio Peres Correia. Between 1234 and 1242, Correia led the conquest of much of the southerly Moorish dominions of Baixo Alentejo, in 1242, Paio Peres Correia was elevated to Grand Master of the Order of Santiago, the only known Portuguese to have held the supreme title of the Castilian-based Order. In 1249, Paio Peres Correia and the Order of Santiago helped Afonso III of Portugal sweep up the final Moorish possessions in the Algarve, the possessions of the Order of Santiago in Portugal were expanded and confirmed by Afonso III in 1255. After the death of Correia in 1275, the Order of Santiago returned firmly into Castilian hands, thus, in 1288, King Denis of Portugal separated the Portuguese branch from the Castilian-Leonese Order. This was confirmed by Pope John XXII in 1320, the Order of Santiago possessed many domains granted by the Portuguese crown, almost all of them south of the Tagus River, clustered in the Sado region and lower Alentejo

7.
Monastery of Santa Cruz (Coimbra)
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The Santa Cruz Monastery, best known as Igreja de Santa Cruz, is a National Monument in Coimbra, Portugal. Because the first two kings of Portugal are buried in the church it was granted the status of National Pantheon, founded in 1131 outside the protecting walls of Coimbra, the Santa Cruz Monastery was the most important monastic house during the early days of the Portuguese monarchy. St. Theotonius founded this community of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra, the monastery and church were erected between 1132 and 1223. Its school, with its vast library, was respected in medieval times and was a meeting point for the intellectual. Its scriptorium was used for the consolidation of power by King Afonso Henriques. Nothing remains of the early Romanesque monastery and it is known that it had only one nave and a high tower in the façade, as typical of the Augustinian-Romanesque constructions, but none of those elements subsisted. In the first half of the 16th century, the Monastery was completely renovated by King Manuels order, the architect Diogo de Boitaca was responsible for the layout of the Manueline church and the chapter house with its basket-handled and ribbed ceilings. Marco Pires gave continuity to the work, with the completion of the church, the Capela de São Miguel, the sacristy dates back to the 17th century and keeps some notable 16th-century canvases. Saint Anthony of Lisbon was a member of the community of canons regular and it was in this capacity that he welcomed the remains of the Franciscan protomartyrs, whose remains were being transported back to Assisi, after their deaths in Morocco. This led to his decision to leave the security and ease of the life of a canon for that of the newly founded Franciscans

8.
Portuguese House of Burgundy
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The Portuguese House of Burgundy or the Afonsine Dynasty is a cadet branch of the House of Burgundy, descended from Henry, Count of Portugal. Henry was a son of Henry of Burgundy, the son. The younger Henry, having little chance of inheriting any land or titles, had joined the reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula in the late 11th century and his son, Afonso Henriques, became King of Portugal after defeating his mother in the Battle of São Mamede in 1128. It was only in 1179 that Pope Alexander III recognized Portugal as an independent state, recognition, at the time, the kings that succeeded Afonso I continued the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula against the Moors. Afonso III conquered the Algarve and adopted the title of King of Portugal, the borders of Portugal were defined in the Treaty of Alcanizes when king Dinis I, son of Afonso III, started developing the kingdoms land. In 1383 Beatrice, princess of Portugal and heir to the throne married John I of Castile, when Ferdinand I died during the same year the kingdom entered a period of anarchy called the 1383-1385 Crisis, threatened with a possible annexation by Castile. This period ended in 1385 with the victory of the Portuguese in the Battle of Aljubarrota and a new dynasty began with John I, Master of Aviz, thus called the House of Aviz